Linux Mint Forums

Forum rules
There are no such things as "stupid" questions. However if you think your question is a bit stupid, then this is the right place for you to post it. Please stick to easy to-the-point questions that you feel people can answer fast. For long and complicated questions prefer the other forums within the support section.Before you post please read how to get help

I tried installing Cinnamon in VirtualBox 4.2. The host operating system is Windows 7, 64bit. I get the splash screen saying it is launching, but it never gets beyond that.

I successfully installed MATE on a laptop computer that was previously running Windows Vista. Evrything was working great, but when I instaled the Cinnamon desktop, nothing happened. I thought I needed a reboot, and when it came back up, all I got was the backround. No toolbars or icons, I couldn't even launch a terminal. I have reverted back to the MATE environment in the meantime.

Your post leaves a lot detalis out. Such as which version of Linux Mint (13 or 14) you're trying install in virtualbox and which edition MATE,Cinnamon,XFCE,KDE or Debian. Moreover your post seems to indicate you're either trying install Cinnamon by itself (which can't be done it's just a Gnome shell that must installed over a Gnome 3 environment) or you're trying install cinnamon over an existing disto like Ubuntu.

To add Cinnamon to another Linux Mint edition (MATE,XFCE,KDE,) you use mint-meta cinnamon,either in the terminal (sudo apt-get install mint-meta cinnamon) ,or thorugh the software manager or package manger.

Sorry, the version is Linux Mint 14. As far as the version, I thought that Cinnamon was the version. The Linux Mint download page offers a variety of "flavors" to choose from: http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php. For example, I chose MATE, downloaded the iso and was able to install it no problem. I was under the impression that choosing Cinnamon from the same page would work the same way, but this does not appear to be the case, unless I did something wrong. Does the Linux Mint download page box up the Gnome environment and shell together automatically? Or do you need to start with MATE and then install your shell of choice later?

tdevine66 wrote:Sorry, the version is Linux Mint 14. As far as the version, I thought that Cinnamon was the version. The Linux Mint download page offers a variety of "flavors" to choose from: http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php. For example, I chose MATE, downloaded the iso and was able to install it no problem. I was under the impression that choosing Cinnamon from the same page would work the same way, but this does not appear to be the case, unless I did something wrong. Does the Linux Mint download page box up the Gnome environment and shell together automatically? Or do you need to start with MATE and then install your shell of choice later?

Sorry for the confusion and thanks again.

Why not burn the image to a disc, and dual boot. Works perfectly on my machine with windows 7

Why not burn the image to a disc, and dual boot. Works perfectly on my machine with windows 7

That is a popular choice for a lot of people, but honestly, I am nowhere near ready to leave Windows. I am only beginning to experiment with Linux (computers in general really), so a virtual machine works great. I have never partitioned a disk, and I would rather not start on my main work computer.

However, I do have a laptop that is running Linux and Linux only. I may try a dual boot setup with Mint and Ubuntu on that machine to practice partitioning.

There's your problem, that's a terribly outdated Cinnamon repo. And if you're on Linux Mint 14 Cinnamon, you don't need to add a PPA, it comes with Cinnamon (clue is in the name).

Delete everything you've got, install Linux Mint 14 Cinnamon - don't add any repos. If you - then - don't boot into a Cinnamon session, you probably have a graphics card/driver not playing well with Cinnamon.

On Ubuntu or an Ubuntu derivative not Mint, this is the PPA to use: ppa:gwendal-lebihan-dev/cinnamon-stable

Thank you for this thread. That’s all I can say. You most definitely have made this forum into something special. You clearly know what you are doing, you’ve covered so many bases. Thanks!

Okay, I created a brand new vm using the same specs that I posted earlier and used the Cinnamon iso that I downloaded from the Linux Mint page. I get a warning about 32 bit color vs 24 bit color. After I press OK it stalls at the splash screen and doesn't do anything else.